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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29652138">A Choice Of Lies</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/StripedScribe/pseuds/StripedScribe'>StripedScribe</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Febuwhump2021 [23]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Daredevil (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Blood, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Gen, Injury, Lies, Serious Injuries</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 06:07:48</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,277</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29652138</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/StripedScribe/pseuds/StripedScribe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Stood under a streetlight, the Devil and a cop. An unlikely pair, but one that was becoming more common, the gentle alibi of looking the other way as the Devil ran, an exchange of information, or a deposited criminal.<br/>Until tonight, when the Devil had sought out Brett, in need of help</p><p>FebuWhump Day 23 [Don't Look]</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Brett Mahoney &amp; Franklin "Foggy" Nelson, Brett Mahoney &amp; Matt Murdock, Matt Murdock &amp; Franklin "Foggy" Nelson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Febuwhump2021 [23]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2136723</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>30</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A Choice Of Lies</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Stood under a streetlight, the Devil and a cop. In any other situation he’d be looking the other way to give him a chance to escape, after passing over information, or dropping off another criminal, battered and bruised.</p><p>Tonight was different though. Tonight he’d been followed by the Devil after he’d lost sight of a gang, a plea of help called out of an alleyway. His hand clutched in front of him, leaking blood on the floor. Helping him to lower himself down to sit on the kerb, noticing him shaking. In shock, more than likely, judging by the look of that, whatever had happened.</p><p>“Don’t look.”</p><p>“Can’t not look.” His face was cast away from the mess of his hand, blood and bone. Empty eyes of the devil’s mask looking over at the wall. He wasn’t looking, but if what they said about him being less or more than human, maybe he didn’t need his eyes to see.</p><p>He wasn’t healing already though, not like they’d seen others do, the likes of Deadpool or Spider-Man. Or gifted with the powers to not get hurt in the first place, like Cage, or Jones. “You’re not enhanced? It’s not healing.”</p><p>“I’m not really the devil you know. No, not enhanced in any way to help me here.” His other hand continued to shake, bracing himself against the edge of the kerb. Enhanced in some other way then. Another check for the psychic box in the betting ring.</p><p>He knew he was the so called Devil-whisperer in the precinct, but he really didn’t expect to be trying to look after him in this way. He could only blame Nelson, getting him caught up in the drama of vigilantes, bribing his mother. A chase gone wrong, with a group of clearly twisted cops, a gang, and Daredevil injured in the middle of it.</p><p>“The fuck happened man?” This was bad, his hand was smashed to hell, broken by something or someone before he limped over to where Brett was stationed.</p><p>“They ran it over. Knocked me down then made a run for it, smashed over my hand with a wheel.” A grimace of pain through the quick breaths, holding back a scream. “I’ve got a nurse, I don’t - I don’t think I can get to her though.”</p><p>“She’s not going to be able to do much. You need the hospital if you want any chance of saving that hand.” This was so not what he signed up for. He’s meant to be chasing down that gang, not sat here on a sidewalk playing nurse to the Devil. There was a duty of care though, even if he never mentioned this to the rest of the precinct.</p><p>“No, no hospitals.”</p><p>“Look, I know you’ve got a complex about your identity, but you’re going to lose your hand if we don’t get you help, and now.” He pulled out his radio, set on calling for an ambulance.</p><p>“No.” The Devil’s uninjured hand clasped onto his arm, and he froze. “No hospitals, no removing this mask.”</p><p>“You need a hospital.” He should care for who’s under the mask, but it was beyond his job to admit it, speak it out loud. If he knew, he’d be obligated to arrest him, and well, it wouldn’t look good for them and their family. Better to deny the obvious signs. “Can we get you out of these clothes, into plain clothes and take you in?”</p><p>“You’re a cop Brett, you can’t know who I am. I-” He was as stubborn as he’d always been, and incapable of accepting help. Even calling him Brett was another clue to what had been staring him in the face for so long.</p><p>How did Foggy even cope with this? How was he even still alive if he refused help so much?</p><p>“I know already. Come on.” He pulled him up, ignoring Murdock’s spluttering at being found out. “If you hadn’t been so close to Foggy and made it your mission in and out of that suit to go against me, I probably wouldn’t have known.”</p><p>Stunned into silence, he dragged him along, the realisation his place was much closer than Murdock’s. He should fit into some of his clothes, call an ambulance, make up something for the crushed hand. Say he found him on the street maybe. Piled him into the back of the patrol car, thankful for working solo tonight. Wrapped the hand in a bandage, apologising all the time as Matt bit back a scream, white linen quickly turning red.</p><p>He’d lost a lot of blood. What was he even doing, he shouldn’t be moving him around, he should have been in the emergency department so long ago.</p><p>Not like this though. He owed that to him at least. Delay long enough to get him changed, into street clothes.</p><p>He left Murdock in the car whilst he rushed inside for a change of clothes, throwing them to him in the back seat. Realising it would be quicker to drive him there, glancing in the rear view mirror and noticing all the scars from hundreds of fights, the groan of pain as he pulled clothes over his hand. Enhanced in a way to not feel pain?</p><p>He had to basically carry him into the emergency department, still in uniform, Matt wearing an oversized hoodie with a blood soaked bandage covering his hand. Staff rushing over to him, pulling a stretcher, taking Matt away from him.</p><p>“He’s under police protection. Matt Murdock, he’s blind. Crushed right hand, found him outside, suspected hit and run.” A perfect excuse and almost the truth. And with a blind victim, little for the police to even try to chase up. Not that he could see Murdock wanting to push charges, knowing it was part of the gangs they’d both been chasing for weeks.</p><p>The sleeves of his uniform were blood stained, but he couldn’t change. Couldn’t leave this post set up outside of the door they’d dragged him through. To triage, to assess the damage, and then he could only guess to surgery, or something else.</p><p>They’d call his next of kin, he’d have to let Foggy know as well. Did Foggy even know?</p><p>He must do. They were so close, he must know that Matt was running around at night in a stripper’s suit.</p><p>But what if he didn’t? The decisions, rattling around in his mind, it surely wasn’t his place to tell Foggy, if Matt hadn’t. Better to go with the lies he’d told the nurses, that he’d just found him on the street injured. Let Foggy ask if it was Daredevil, if he knew, be vague enough to let him lead the conversation.</p><p>There was little news from Murdock’s situation. Snippets as they took him from scan to scan, into surgery, cleaning out the wound. No sign of optimism for how much mobility he’d regain, even if he would keep the hand. He’d seen injuries like that before, hellish awful injuries where the only option was amputation.</p><p>He’d got him into the hospital quickly. Whether or not it was quick enough they’d only have to wait and see.</p><p>A nurse came through, told him he was sedated, took him through to his room. Clothes ripped away and discarded, wearing just a hospital gown under the covers. An oxygen mask on his face, and the thick heavy layer of bandages covering his hand, held up in some sort of sling to keep elevated.</p><p>He’d survive this. Even if the worst happened, if they couldn’t save it, he’d survive it. Who else would annoy him, badger him at the precinct, seek him out for the interesting cases. And then apparently patrol the city at night on the other side of the law. Foggy had to know, surely.</p><p>At least he wasn’t wearing Brett’s clothes anymore. That could have been awkward. He should be stood outside guarding, keep up appearances after saying he was under protection, but it had been a long night, all he wanted to do was sink to the floor.</p><p>What was it his mother had said, run out of spoons? Definitely out of spoons. Definitely time to just sit down, keep an eye on Murdock. Wait for his next of kin to turn up, which the hospital had said they’d called, and realise he wasn’t even sure who that was.</p><p>“Brett?” Of course it was Nelson. “They said there was a cop here with him, didn’t realise it was you. What happened?”</p><p>He looked terrified, rushed out of bed at whatever time of the morning it was now. Terrified because his friend was in hospital, or because he thought he’d been found out as Daredevil? He couldn’t tell.</p><p>“I found him in the road, hit and run. His hand is smashed up, not sure what else. They’ve cleaned it out, but they’re not sure how much they’re going to be able to fix.”</p><p>“Oh god.” He moved out of the chair, letting Foggy sink down next to the still unconscious Matt.</p><p>“Do they have his cane and that? Where’s all of his things?” He scanned the room, and Brett realised that yeah, okay, he doesn’t know. Wouldn’t have asked that if he knew of Matt’s night life activities.  “What was he even doing out that time of night? Do you know?”</p><p>“Don’t know, I didn’t see his cane when I picked him up, too much of a rush to get him in here. He was up near Fogwell’s, didn’t he used to go there?” Lies upon lies, but it wasn’t his place to say. This was a big enough of a problem without exposing Murdock’s alter-ego. Unless Foggy knew and was trying to hide it from Brett.</p><p>“I mean, yeah he did. Wait how do you know that?”</p><p>“Passed him a few times on patrol, on his walk home. Always offered him a lift, didn’t seem right he was out that late by himself.” If only he’d known, hell, he was probably on his way in to a Daredevil patrol every time. “Always said he could handle himself well enough to get home.”</p><p>“He’s stubborn, he’d never want to be treated that way, pitied.” The sadness in Foggy’s eyes, and was there more to their relationship than they let on?  Or did he want there to be something more than there was?</p><p>It was common knowledge the two lawyers were close, like family, like brothers. And he knew Foggy was bi, wasn’t sure about Matt. “He’ll survive this. You know he will, he’s still as stubborn as ever. A bit of time in here, heal up, get it all fixed.” How would he cover up the fact Daredevil was off the streets during the recovery? Would one of the Defenders step up, would he have to switch to looking after them as well, as a vigilante-whisperer.</p><p>-</p><p>Days later, and Matt had woken up, confined to bed rest with Foggy looking after him, daily wound cleaning. Surgeons looking after him to see what they could save, if they could save anything. From the updates Brett had received, it didn’t sound good.</p><p>Almost as bad as the furious phone call he’d received from Foggy, a shouted voice down the phone. They’d returned some of the clothes they could from what Matt had been brought in in. Brett’s clothes.</p><p>He could only freeze, stuttered voices down the phone.</p><p>“It’s not what it looks like.”</p><p>“It looks an awful like you didn’t tell me the truth Brett.” He winced, it was a fair statement. “Why on earth was Matt wearing those clothes?”</p><p>“Ask him. I don’t know if he wants you to know.” He hung up, immediately regretting everything leading to this moment. Not even knowing which lie Matt would go for. Both seemed awful. Any questions like that would be awful confined to a hospital bed with Foggy’s anger focused at him.</p><p>He could only wait, expecting a returned call, once Foggy had interrogated Matt. And like predicted, half an hour later, his phone rang again.</p><p>“Why didn’t you tell me?”</p><p>“It wasn’t my place to say Foggy, I’m sorry.” The results, if the rest of the precinct found out he knew Daredevil’s identity. Matt had clearly kept it a secret up until now, with good cause. For a lawyer to be out fighting crime at night, he’d be disbarred, criminalised.</p><p>“What? You didn’t know until then?”</p><p>“I thought for a while, but I wasn’t sure. Not until that night.”</p><p>“We’ve been friends for so long Brett, you didn’t have to be scared of what I would think, hell you know me!”</p><p>It wasn’t his secret though, surely Foggy would understand that. He didn’t even know what to reply.</p><p>“You were the first person I came out to Brett! I mean, finding out two of my best friends are dating, because one of them got rushed into hospital.” Oh fuck. Wrong lie Matt.</p><p>“I’m sorry Fogs, I know. Bess doesn’t know, so if we could-”</p><p>“Oh god, of course. My lips are sealed.”</p><p>This was awful. He was too far in to this to do anything but lie. “Thank you. Is he up for visitors yet?”</p><p>“Fuck of course, only one at a time, let me know when you’re here and I’ll give you two some space.”</p><p>“Thanks, see you in a few.” He hung up, and screamed into the empty room. Fake dating Murdock. What. The. Hell.</p><p>Not that he wasn’t attractive.</p><p>Okay, time to go keep up appearances and check on his apparent new boyfriend, and work out what on earth they were doing now.</p><p>This could only go terribly wrong.</p>
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